Fears that France could be the next AAA-rated country to be downgraded after the US hurt the euro and stocks of French banks on Wednesday.

But S&P’s analyst Nikola Swann downplayed those concerns in a phone conference with clients, saying France has better fiscal flows and lower budget deficits than the US, although indebtedness ratios are similar in both countries.

S&P also believes France is on track to solve its debt problems, unlike the US.

“They passed both measures to raise revenues and reduce expenditures and they also pushed through a politically contentious pension system reform which will improve the long-term fiscal sustainability of the French government,” Swann, S&P’s top analyst for the United States, said in a phone conference with investors.

“So we do see more seriousness in addressing fiscal issues in France than in the US,” he added.

S&P on Friday lowered the US credit rating to AA-plus with a negative outlook, threatening to cut it again in the next two years if Washington fails to fully implement the deficit-reduction measures agreed last week.

Swann said that decision will have no knock-on or ripple effects on other sovereign ratings, however.

Rival agencies Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, which still give a triple-A rating to the US, also said they are not contemplating any changes to France’s sovereign ratings in the near term.